Principal

NAPLAN 2024

Students in Years 5, 7 and 9 have recently received their Individual Student Reports for NAPLAN 2024. St Patrick’s College has enjoyed a long tradition of academic excellence, and we are very proud of our Year 5, 7 and 9 students who continue this tradition with strong results in 2024.

Last year, ACARA introduced a new time series where students are assessed against four levels of proficiency based on previous years of schooling: Exceeding, Strong, Developing and Needs additional support. Across all domains (Writing, Reading, Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation, and Numeracy) our students achieved well above state averages.

Our students have demonstrated academic courage in their commitment to growing their skills in literacy and numeracy. These achievements reflect the dedication and exceptional work of our teachers and students, and the quality of the teaching and learning that is supported by parents through our partnership approach.

We congratulate our young scholars on their impressive performance in NAPLAN while appreciating that this is just one measure of success in a student’s individual academic journey.  In addition to developing core skills in literacy and numeracy, the values taught through an EREA education provide our students with the foundation to be collaborative, critical, and creative thinkers and leaders who demonstrate resilience in the face of challenges.

We will continue to have an unrelenting focus on improving our boys’ literacy skills. We know that boys need reading and literacy skills for their self-esteem. Numerous studies show that there is a link between a lack of literacy confidence and low self-esteem.  The effects of falling behind in reading and feeling like a failure can take a large toll. Boys can lose all desire to learn to read or go to school. Some begin to act out in class or set low expectations for themselves. In some instances, this can lead to a higher risk of issues such as anxiety, depression, anger, and general poor self-esteem.

The research leaves absolutely no doubt that boys trail girls in literacy attainment.  The Centre on Education Policy called this gap “the most pressing gender-gap issue facing our schools.”  Research in Australia, UK, and the USA all show similar results and trends. According to the Australian Early Development Census 2014 boys are more developmentally vulnerable than girls at school entry.  Almost double the number of boys than girls are considered vulnerable in the area of language and cognitive skills. As they get older, boys increasingly describe themselves as non-readers. Few have this attitude early in their schooling.  According to some experts, nearly 50 per cent describe themselves as non-readers by the time they enter secondary school.  A longitudinal research study undertaken by the Australian Institute of Family Studies found that boys stated enjoyment of reading reduced at they got older.  Starting at a significant 32% for 6-7 year-olds, increasing to a disturbing 55% of 10-11-year olds.

How can parents/carers help reluctant readers?

There is absolutely no doubt that boys learn differently than girls. To get the best out of boys and their learning activities, there needs to be an understanding of how best to work with them. 

• Give them topics to read they can relate to. UK newspaper The Guardian recently reported on two studies conducted by Keith Topping in which one of the key findings was that in order to improve boys reading you must first find out what interests them.
• Let them read what they want – if they interested in sports let them read sports magazines and statistics.
• Start small, short and sweet is okay, a little is better than nothing.
• Work with what they like, use technology such as PCs and tablets.
• Integrate multimedia, don’t shun it.
• Read with them and model ‘reading behaviour’, especially Dads and other male role models.

I am including our aggregated results below, compared to the state of NSW.

Year 5 (2024)

Year 7 (2024)

YEAR 9 (2024)

Paris Olympic Opening Ceremony: A Misunderstanding or a Deliberate Provocation? 

At last Friday’s Senior School Assembly, our Captain, Michael Sakr, shared with the student body the disappointment he felt after watching the Opening Ceremony. Without having discussed this with him beforehand, I spoke of my own shock and disappointment at the images which have really tainted my enjoyment of this global event. My initial impression, without knowing what the organising committee intended to communicate, was a mockery of Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper (Il Cenacolo) which I have had the privilege to visit in Milan. Subsequently, a number of students have reached out to Michael and me to inform us that we were being led by media reports when the ceremony was not a representation of the Last Supper. So – I’ve done a little research. Did I have my wires crossed?

After a few days, following worldwide outrage, the organisers behind the Paris Olympics apologised to anyone who was offended by the tableau that evoked Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper during last week’s Opening Ceremony and provoked outrage by religious conservatives around the world. The organisers, however, defended the concept behind it.

Da Vinci's painting depicts the moment when Jesus Christ declared that an apostle would betray him. The scene during last week’s ceremony on the Debilly Bridge featured DJ and producer Barbara Butch — an LGBTQ+ icon who calls herself a "love activist." Butch was wearing a silver headdress that looked like a halo as she got the party going on a footbridge across the Seine. Drag artists, dancers and others flanked Butch on both sides.

At that time the organisers argued that the specific part of the ceremony that caused the offence was, in fact, a scene depicting Dionysus, the Greek god of wine. It was reportedly based on The Feast of the Gods, a 17th-century painting by Dutch artist Jan Harmensz van Biljert that hangs in the Magnin Museum in Dijon, eastern France. The painting depicts an assembly of Greek gods on Mount Olympus for a banquet to celebrate the marriage of Thetis and Peleus. The figure seated at the table in the centre has a halo of light behind his head.

Thomas Jolly, the Opening Ceremony Director, insisted in an interview with France's BFMTV that The Last Supper was not the inspiration behind the scene, explaining that "Dionysus arrives at the table because he is the Greek God of celebration," adding that the particular sequence was entitled "festivity."

"The idea was to create a big pagan party in link with the God of Mount Olympus — and you will never find in me, or in my work, any desire of mocking anyone," Jolly said.

The "interpretation of the Greek God Dionysus makes us aware of the absurdity of violence between human beings," a post on the official social media account of the Olympic Games said by way of explanation. 

Despite the debate over whether the segment was actually an esoteric reference to another piece of art or if it was indeed an anti-Christian parody of the famous painting, the ceremony’s producers have now admitted in a written statement 'For the "Festivities" segment, Thomas Jolly [the games artistic director] took inspiration from Leonardo da Vinci’s famous painting to create the setting.' Jolly himself said he 'wanted to include everyone, as simple as that’ but added that he wanted to convey 'we have the right not to be worshippers.'

In response, Archbishop Fisher and Bishop Randazzo, in his capacity as the President of the Federation of Catholic Bishops Conferences of Oceania, released statements, calling upon the faithful to 'stand firm against such misrepresentations and advocate for genuine respect and inclusion, which are first and foremost Gospel values', and, 'importantly, pray for those who have not yet come to know and love Christ.' 

These statements are worth reading, and I encourage you to share them with your networks. You can access a full copy of Archbishop Fisher’s statement here and Bishop Randazzo’s media release here.

I, like many, will sadly be looking at this year's Olympic Games a little differently. I will be wholeheartedly supporting Team Australia and I remain in admiration of every athlete who has been training for years to reach this milestone. I will think back to the days of the games in Sydney, London and Tokyo when there was so much solidarity and such joy, and think how very differently it feels today and how far we are from that. I will continue to pray for a spirit of accountability and wisdom.

Staff News

No doubt parents of students in the secondary school who have Rhys Hannaford as a Science teacher, would have been aware that he was on two weeks of leave from the start of Term 3. Regrettably, Mr Hannaford has since resigned from the College with his last day being Friday 16 August 2024. I am very proud of our Human Resource leaders in the College who have been proactive in identifying and attracting qualified staff to the College. We have made an appointment of a suitably qualified Science teacher to take over this load, Dr Hai-Jin Song. Dr Song has a PhD in Food Science and Technology (UNSW) and has also completed a Master of Teaching (Science) from Macquarie University. She will add much to our Science Faculty and possibly, Food Technology in the future.

In Memoriam

We keep in our prayers Levi Karazinov (Year 7) whose cousin Old Boy Angelo Moschella ('93) sadlypassed away this week. Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Dr Vittoria Lavorato

Principal

SPC boys can do anything! 

**except divide by zero